Author: Maarten Koning

The Genesis of the Swiss Confederation

The genesis of the Swiss Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft) is often directly linked to the agreement between the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden (today’s cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden) in 1291.

However, the decisive events for the Confederation took place in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The first joint administration (Gemeine Herrschaften) of occupied territories (Untertanengebiete), the resolution of the conflict between cantons in the Alte Zürichkrieg (1440-1446), the victories in the Burgunderkriege (1476-1477), the compromise in the Stanser Verkommnis (1481) and the victory in the Swabenkrieg (1499) led to a new sovereign political entity. 

The great powers also recognised the Swiss Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft).

The book in the German language gives a detailed overview of this period, documents it richly with sources and places this story of history in the cultural landscape of Switzerland in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Kurt Messmer, Die Kunst des Möglichen. Zur Entstehung der Eidgenossenschaft im 15. Jahrhundert, Baden, 2018.

The Knonauer District and Maschwanden

The Eschenbach family founded the castle and town of “Maswandon” in the thirteenth century. Their castle was the Schnadelburg in the Albis region.

Maschwanden was first mentioned in a document in 1260. The town was destroyed by the Habsburgs in 1309 as revenge for the participation of Walther IV von Eschenbach in the murder of King Albrecht of Habsburg (1255-1308). The King is buried in the monastery church Königsfelden in Windisch.

The Lords of Hallwyl acquired Maschwanden in 1339. The city of Zurich succeeded in 1406. The church, dating back to 1505, is a typical late Gothic Zurich country church. The stained glass windows from 1505 are renowned and can be viewed today at the Landesmuseum in Zurich.

From the beginning of the 15th century until the Reformation (1525-1530), Zurich gradually gained dominion over all the areas between the mountain Albis and the river Reuss.

After the conquest of the Aargau in 1415, Zürich annexed the Freiamt Affoltern Steinhausen, Aesch, Birmensdorf-Oberurdorf, Hedingen, the manor of Knonau, Wettswil-Stallikon and finally Bonstetten in 1538.  In its present boundaries, the district of Knonauer Amt was created in 1814.

The Maschwander Allmend and the nature reserve Rüssspitz, located between the Reuss and Lorze rivers, are among the last extensive grassland plains in the Swiss Mittelland.

Vast meadows characterise the area with free-standing willows and a floodplain forest. It is part of the Zürcher Reusstal, a nature reserve connected to the Aargau Reusstal.

(Source and further information: www.knonauer-amt.ch).

The Wettingen Monastery and Museum

The Monastery of Wettingen (Canton of Aargau) dates back to the 13th century. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1227 by Count Heinrich II of Rapperswil. The convent on the half-island had estates, gardens and vineyards.  Together with the former monastery Fahr, it was the largest landowner and economic power in the Limmattal.

A fire destroyed the monastery in 1507. The greatest danger, however, was the Reformation in 1529. Most monks converted to the new faith and left the monastery. 

The new abbot, Peter Schmid (1559-1633), appointed in 1594, successfully restored the monastery to its former glory. He renovated old buildings and constructed many new ones. Until the French invasion of the Swiss Confederation in 1798, the monastery experienced a period of prosperity again in the predominantly Protestant Aargau. 

The area that is today’s Canton of Aargau (founded in 1803 by Napoleon’s Mediation Act) was governed from 1415 to 1798 by the Catholic and Protestant members of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the Eidgenossenschaft. This cooperation and the possibility of choosing one’s religion were already unique in Europe until 1798. 

In 1799, the monastery was located in a war zone and was forced to accommodate officers and soldiers from the French, Austrian, and Russian armies.

After the foundation of the new Confederation in 1815 (by the Bundesbrief), the mood towards the (rich) monasteries worsened in the canton. Aarau’s parliament (Grosser Rat) decided in 1841 to dissolve the monasteries. The Cistercian monks of Wettingen found a new home in Mehrerau, near Bregenz, Austria. 

The monastery buildings were used for a teachers’ seminary. In 1976, the cantonal school was founded. From 1 April 2022, the Aargau Museum will open rooms for temporary exhibitions in the monastery complex.  

(Source and further information: www.museumaargau.ch/klosterhalbinsel-wettingen)

The current bridges over the Limmat from Neuenhof to Wettingen

The Grubenmann-Bridge in 1795. Collection: SNM LM-81832

The original bridge, built in 1765, was destroyed in 1798. However, its reputation reached as far as England (report from 1789)! The new wooden bridge of 1818 and the iron bridge (1886) were the replacements.

The Saint-Pierre in Engollon

Switzerland’s well-preserved cultural heritage, which is also maintained, offers many surprises. So too in the small village of Engollon in the Val-de-Ruz (canton of Neuchâtel).

The church of Saint-Pierre (Saint Peter) first appears in a document from 1228. However, recent archaeological excavations have revealed the foundations of a church from earlier centuries.

Guillaume of Aarberg (1378-1436), Count of Aarberg and Lord of Valangin, built a chapel in 1427 in memory of his late wife. The bell tower dates from 1685. A significant change took place in 1803 with the construction of the current stone tower and the reconstruction of the nave.

Well-preserved frescoes from the 14th century were discovered in 1924. The Gothic wall paintings depict episodes from the life of Christ, while the vault shows the symbols of the evangelists around a Christ in Majesty.

Source and further information: www.eren.ch (Église Réformée Évangélique du Canton de Neuchâtel).

Innovation along the Lorze

The Lorze is a river in the canton of Zug. Its source is the Ägerisee. This mountain lake lies 724 metres and is best known for the Battle of Morgarten in 1315.
The Lorze flows through the Lorzentobel (Canyon of the Lorze) into Lake Zug (Zugersee).

The Lorze (to the left) continues to meet the Reuss near Maschwanden/ Photo: TES.

It leaves this lake at Cham, flows through the picturesque Lorze valley (Lorzetal) and disappears into the Reuss at the village of Maschwanden (Canton Zurich).

However, before it merges into the Reuss, it leaves its industrial traces. Water used to drive mills, hydroelectric power plants and paper mills in the Lorze Valley has a long history.

The grain mill near Cham, the Untermühle, was mentioned in documents as early as 1309. Paper mills were established in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Cham paper mill was founded in 1687 and modernised in 1798 by introducing the paper machine, a French invention. Today, the mill is a multinational company that produces 100,000 tonnes of high-quality paper annually, with 80% of the output exported.

Mills also existed in Hagendorn and near the Frauenthal Monastery in the Middle Ages. These mills mainly served as weaving mills and spinning mills.

However, the most significant industrial development occurred in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, with the construction of three hydroelectric power stations along the Lorze.

These hydroelectric power plants in Cham, Frauenthal, and Hagendorn are still operational. They have been modernised, including the installation of fish ladders, while retaining their monumental status.

The three hydroelectric power plants produce 6.5 gigawatt-hours annually. In 1935, they were the most innovative and modern power plants in Switzerland and Europe, with generators made by the Aarau company Brown Boveri (now ABB).

Hagendorn was also ahead of its time in another area. In 1866, the spinning and weaving company built houses for its workers on the banks of the Lorze, almost half a century before the famous Bauhaus or Bata houses in other countries.

These houses were called Kosthäuser (boarding houses). They provided accommodation for the workers and their families at low rents. The factory owners also had their interests. Workers had a stable living environment and did not leave for another poorly paid job. Anyone who moved away also had to give up their rent. This concept and the beautiful houses still exist; only today, the Cham paper factory is the owner.

On his way along the Reuss from Rottenschwil, the hiker has no idea of this industrial and social history in the Lorze plain when he passes the Stille Reuss, the Rottenschwil nature reserve, the Flachsee near Unterlunkhofen and the medieval abbey of Muri (Canton Aargau).

For centuries, the village of Rottenschwil lived from agriculture and had to cede part of its meagre income to the monasteries of Muri and Hermetschwil. The industrial development began after the village of Maschwanden and in the Lorze Valley.

The Maschwander Allmend and the nature reserve Rüssspitz, located between the Reuss and Lorze rivers, are among the last extensive grassland plains in the Swiss Mittelland. Vast meadows characterise the area with free-standing willows and a floodplain forest. It is part of the Zürcher Reusstal, a nature reserve connected to the Aargau Reusstal.

The Rigi, the Pilatus and other (snow-covered) Alpine peaks have witnessed these developments along the Lorze for centuries.

Church at Cham

The Swiss Alpine Club

The Swiss Alpine Club (Schweizer Alpen Club, SAC/Club Alpin Suisse, CAS) regularly organises hiking trips in this region (and elsewhere).

The SAC organises ski tours, mountaineering, and other sports in the high mountains and the Alps, as well as activities in different regions.

Proofreader: Adrian Dubock

The Charivari of the Basler Fasnacht

This year’s Basler Fasnacht begins at 4 a.m. on 7 March. Before this annual event, various events take place in theatres. Several happenings will be briefly discussed until March. The aim is to put the centuries-old Fasnacht tradition into perspective.

The Basler Fasnacht (see also www.fasnacht.ch and www.fasnachts-comite.ch) has its origins in the annual parade of the city’s civic militia. The first reports date back to the fourteenth century. The marches throughout the city were accompanied by piccolos and drums, and marching music. The parades are still without singing. They are rather processions with beautifully dressed ‘cliques’. The costumes surpass those of  ‘Venice’.

The Fasnacht has little in common with the carnaval as it is known in other countries. The Basler Fasnacht is art and culture with a mild satirical and ironic political sauce.

The Charivari, the Vorfasnacht of Kleinbasel (Glaibasel), is a performance in the Volkshaus. The Charivari ensemble consists of two professional and three amateur actors. Three hundred volunteers are involved, the Swiss Milizsystem/ Système de Milice, par excellence.

Charivari is derived from a (late) medieval custom. Young people in cities manifested themselves in the streets during the days preceding Lent by producing loud music to criticise the city government and draw attention to their interests.

The Charivari is a show of theatre plays, cabaret (the Schnitzelbängg), readings (in Baslertütsch), songs (in Oberrheinalemannisch) and musical performances by cliques (associations), with the piccolos and drummers predominating.

A characteristic of Fasnacht (and Switzerland) is the enormous innovative and creative adaptability to other times and circumstances while maintaining the typical features and principles of the event.

The fantastic performances and costumes of the drum group d Drummelgrube Top Secret (based on the James Bond classic Moonraker(1979), the piccolo group d Schäärede, the cabaret group d Gwääg, the cliques Seibi 1933 Basel, Schotte Clique 1947 Basel, d hunne Basel or d Fasnachtzunft Ryburg are some of the highlights of this performance.

(Further information: Willkommen (charivari.ch).

 

Frauenthal Abbey

Frauenthal (Canton of Zug) is the oldest Swiss Cistercian monastery still existing where it was founded. Ulrich von Schnabelburg founded the abbey around 1245 for noble ladies. The name Frauenthal, meaning “valley of women,” also suggests such an origin.

Due to the Reformation, the monastery was abandoned from 1530 to 1552. The Cistercian Abbey of Wettingen (today Wettingen-Mehrerau) took over the management of the monastery in 1573.

The monastery lies a few kilometres north of Cham, nestled amidst woods and meadows on an island formed by the confluence of two branches of the Lorze River. The monastery church is built in the style of the Rococo period (1776/1777).

The monastery is the centre of a small village, featuring 26 residential and functional buildings designed according to the Cistercian tradition. They have been extended and renovated several times since the 17th century. The last significant renovation occurred in 1997.

(Source and further information: Kloster Frauenthal).

The History of the Appenzeller Cantons

The hilly and mountainous landscape of the two Appenzell cantons is as beautiful as their origins are typically Swiss and unique.

The area of these cantons covers 420 km². The northern part of Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) consists of hills and is almost bordered by Lake Constance. In the southern region, Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI), the mountains of the Prealps dominate, with the highest peak, the Säntis (2,502 metres).

Appenzell Ausserrhoden comprises the regions of Hinterland, Mittelland (with the capital of Herisau), and Vorderland. Appenzell Innerrhoden comprises the Inneres Land region. Appenzell is the capital of the canton.

Herisau

Rhode (plural Rhoden) means the medieval administrative units (first mentioned in documents in the 14th century). These are the six ”äusseren Rhoden” (Urnäsch, Herisau, obere und untere Rhode Hundwil, Teufen und Trogen) and the six ‘inneren Rhoden’ (Schwende, Rüte, Lehn, Schlatt, Gonten, Rinkenbach/Wies).

This geographical division serves as the basis for the naming of the split in 1597. Another change was the transition from arable farming to animal husbandry, which remains the primary agricultural industry.

During this period, the äusseren Rhoden had around 10,000 inhabitants, and the inneren Rhoden had about 4,000. Today, these numbers are 55,000 and 16,000, respectively.

Appenzell

The Reformation

Appenzell joined the Confederation of the Swiss cantons in 1513, and there was no indication that it would separate into two cantons. In 1597, however, a separation occurred: Canton Appenzell split into the cantons Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden had been Protestant since the Reformation (around 1530), while Appenzell Innerrhoden remained Catholic.

The citizens of Appenzell Ausserrhoden voted for the split on June 2, 1597, and the citizens of Appenzell Innerrhoden followed on June 15, 1597. The Tagssatzung of the Eidgenossenschaft was the Institution under whose leadership the separation was legally settled on 8 September 1597 by the Tagsatzung of the Confederation.

The Eidgenossenschaft was a confederation of sovereign Protestant and Catholic cantons. It was an exceptional situation in Europe, torn apart by religious and civil wars. At the Tagsatzung, the cantons discussed issues on equal terms and with the same rights.

Appenzell, St. Mauritius church

The period until 1513

The Raetic tribes inhabited Appenzell until the Roman occupation, which occurred around 15-13 BC. After the departure of the Romans in 410, the Romansh culture developed.

From the seventh and eighth centuries, the Alemanni increasingly inhabited the area, and Alemannic became the spoken language. The famous abbey of St. Gallen also played a significant role as a major landowner in the region. The Carolingian rulers and their German successors from the Holy Roman Empire appointed the abbots.

The abbey was an imperial monastery, and the abbot was a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. This status was similar to the Reichsumittelbarkeit of several Swiss cities, as well as the Orte Schwyz, Uri, Glarus, and Unterwalden.

This status led to increasing independence in Appenzell, too, supported by the neighbouring Orte. When the abbey of St. Gallen attempted to gain more influence in Appenzell in the early 15th century, seven of the eight cantons of the Eidgenossenschaft (Schwyz, Glarus, Uri, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zug, and Zurich) supported Appenzell. Bern did not join these cantons.

The conflict between St Gall Abbey and Appenzell, despite arbitration by the Eidgenossenschaft, led to the so-called Appenzeller Wars (Appenzeller Kriege). It was a war between the Habsburgs and the abbey on one side and the Eidgenossen on the other.

The peace of 1429 ensured Appenzell’s independence under the Eidgenossenschaft’s protection, with the status of a zugewandter Ort, or an ally, and as an ‘ewige Eidgenosse‘.

Appenzell subsequently participated in the wars of the Eidgenossenschaft against Habsburg in the Alter Zürichkrieg (1436), the conquest of the Rheintal (1444), the conquest of Thurgau (1460), the Waldshuterkrieg (1468), the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477), and finally, the Schwabenkrieg (1499).

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

1513-1597

In 1513, Appenzell became a member of the Confederation as the thirteenth canton. From then on, the canton followed the history of the Eidgenossenschaft, including the status of two half-cantons with only one vote per canton (instead of two) in the Ständerat (Constitution of 1848). Incidentally, the formal position of ‘half-canton’ was removed in the revised Constitution of 2000. A canton is a canton even if it has only one vote in the Senate.

The Landsgemeinde was the administrative construct in Appenzell Innerrhoden from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Conclusion

These cantons’ wisdom, statesmanship and good governance found their culmination and symbolism in 1597.

The Eidgenossenschaft was also torn by religious strife and (civil) wars, even until 1847, but without the neighbouring countries’ brutality, intensity, scale and intolerance.

It was a matter of luck and chance, on the one hand, but also of the direct democracy, compromise, and consensus model that is characteristic of today’s Confederation.

Thanks to its political concept, the Confederation of 13 sovereign Protestant and Catholic cantons emerged relatively unscathed from the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Even the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847, partly inspired by religion and political antagonism, had reconciliation and compromise as its starting point and outcome. Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden was neutral in this conflict because the citizens had decided to remain neutral.

Both Appenzeller (and the Eidgenossenschaft) still deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

(Source: A. Weishaupt u.a., ‘Appenzell (Canton)’, in Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, Appenzell, https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007389/2019-10-25).

The spiritual centers in Arlesheim and Dornach

Arlesheim (canton Basel-Landschaft) reads like a Swiss history book. The medieval castles of Birseck and Reichenstein are located on the hilltops. They are a symbol of the town’s strategic importance.

The cathedral in a village of a few hundred inhabitants, built in 1678, resulted from the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century political and religious conflicts. The bishop and the chapter were expelled from Basel between 1525 and 1529.

The bishop settled in Porrentruy/Pruntrut (in the canton of Jura today), a possession of the bishopric.  After an extended stay in Freiburg im Breisgau, the canons and chapter relocated to Arlesheim, another of their possessions, in 1678.

The cathedral (Baroque and Rococo style), the cathedral square, and the city palaces were built in this period.

Rudolf Steiner built his Goetheanum and village 350 years later in Dornach (Canton Solothurn), within walking distance of the Dom of Arlesheim.

Reformierte Kirche Arlesheim